First Nations material and information accessed on this site may be culturally sensitive for some individuals and communities.
The material displayed contains Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander content and has been made available in accordance with State Library of Queensland’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Collections Commitments.
Newspapers can help you find materials to flesh out your family history, and often contain information that is hard to find anywhere else.
These include:
- births,
- deaths, funerals, and obituaries;
- marriages,
- social and sporting events,
- inquests, court cases and legal notices;
- land sales,
- advertisements and
- military service.
Newspapers are also particularly useful when families include both Indigenous and non-Indigenous members.
Page 24 of The Queenslander Pictorial, supplement to The Queenslander, 27 October 1917, John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland, Image number: 702692-19171027-s0024
Online newspapers and magazines
You may be able to find information about your family in online newspapers or magazines. You can search these websites:
- Trove - digitised Australian newspapers 1846-1954
- Australian Indigenous Index (INFOKOORI). This is an index to the Koori Mail fortnightly newspaper published in Lismore, New South Wales from May 1991 to July 2016. It is also a biographical index from several magazines, including Our Aim (1907-1961), Dawn (1952-1969), New Dawn (1970-1975) and Identity (1971-1982).
- Koori Mail (1991-2018) is available online at Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS).
- Dawn (1952-1969), published by the NSW Aborigines Welfare Board, is available online at Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS).
- New Dawn (1970-1975), published by the NSW Department of Child Welfare and Social Welfare, is available online at Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS).
Tips for searching newspapers in Trove
Try the following in Trove to improve your search results.
- Search by name (for example, “Lena French”), by place or by a station name (for example, “Tarameo station”).
- Search for variations of names and spelling.
- Search using a name and the term ‘Aboriginal’ or ‘Aborigine’ – for example, Tommy AND Aborigine.
- Search using both the name of the place your family lived and the term ‘Aboriginal’ or ‘Aborigine’ – for example, Bega AND Aborigine. Many newspapers reported in general terms about Aboriginal people, rather than using names of individual people.
Remember that historical newspapers often reflect the racist attitudes of the non-Indigenous people who wrote and published them. You might find your ancestors described using words that are offensive, or you might find distressing personal details about your ancestors and their lives.
A photograph tells a story often not captured elsewhere. Discover State Library’s collection and how to access it.
Looking for information about Aboriginal family histories in Queensland? Explore the Tindale Genealogical Collection.
Discover a valuable tool for your Torres Strait Islander family history research. Access genealogies of Torres Strait Islander peoples.